The present invention relates to a composition for and a method of absorbing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide in a container having a product and a high moisture environment from which oxygen was flushed and which contains carbon dioxide and some oxygen.
In certain packaging procedures, a gas flush containing carbon dioxide is utilized to replace oxygen which may have a deteriorating effect on the product within a container. Most gas flushing methods leave between about 0.5% to 2% oxygen in the container. In environments of this type, compositions which absorb oxygen and also generate carbon dioxide are used to absorb oxygen which may have remained in the container or which may leak into the container or which may be generated by the product in the container. It has been found that merely using an oxygen absorber without a carbon dioxide generator does not operate satisfactorily because the oxygen is not absorbed rapidly or sufficiently. For some unexplained reason the generation of carbon dioxide hastens the time and quantity of oxygen absorption. The carbon dioxide which is generated replaces oxygen which is absorbed. However, prior compositions for absorbing oxygen were not stable in that they released carbon dioxide prematurely, that is, before they were placed into their operating environment within the container.